A storied rivalry that used to be about conference championships and NHL supremecy hit the ice again Saturday night, only this time it was to see who would wake up Sunday morning in last place.

Congratulations, Calgary, it ain’t you.

After scoring eight goals last game against one of the top teams in the NHL, the Edmonton Oilers took on another bottom feeder Saturday and looked like they weren’t capable of scoring eight more goals for the rest of the season.

On a night when nothing came easily against a hard-working Flames team that wasn’t about to be beaten by toe drags, soft passes and one-on-three rushes, the Oilers danced their way to a 2-1 overtime loss.

It could have been worse, they were moments away from their fourth shutout loss of the season at home, but Taylor Hall ended 59 minutes and 50 seconds worth of frustration when he scored late to force overtime.

But a bouncing puck in Edmonton’s end wound up on the stick of Jiri Hudler in OT and the Flames won in Edmonton for the ninth time in the last 12 visits.

“I thought we played into their hands for much of the night,” said Hall. “They played their systems well, seemed to be in really good spots on the ice and we tried to make plays through them and around them.

“Sometimes you just have to live to fight another day and dump the puck in and try to get it back. It was nice to get a point, but we didn’t really play well enough to deserve two.”

Edmonton had three power plays in the first period and outshot Calary 12-6, but went into the dressing room trailing 1-0 when Lee Stempniak put one over Devan Dubnyk’s shoulder after a turnover at the Calgary blueline.

It held up for all of the second and 19.49.9 of the third, with the Flames brushing aside aimless Oilers rush after aimless Oilers rush.

“We were trying to chip it in and play down low in the first period and it wasn’t working,” said Jordan Eberle. “Then we kind of got back to our old habits, trying to beat guys one on one and turning it over. You’re not going to score goals that way.

“And our power play, we just didn’t create enough on it. They’re a tough team to generate stuff against and I think that’s where we got frustrated and went back to the one-on-one stuff and that’s where they beat us.”

The second period was a struggle to watch, with neither side able to generate much in the way of flow, offence or entertainment. Let’s just say it was 20 minutes long and leave it at that.

Edmonton had a couple of power plays in the third period to try and make things right, but couldn’t.

The Oilers finished 0-for-6 with the man advantage.

“It just didn’t seem to click,” said Hall. “It seems like we have a hot night and a so-so night the next one. It’s something we have to work on.”

Same with turnovers. The Oilers were credited with 19 giveaways in the loss.

“We have to find some consistency in our game,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “It comes down to every shift. In game sometimes we’ll play really well for a period, or half a period, and get away from it. The best teams in the league are consistent no matter what. That’s something we need to work on and get better at.”

Oilers defenceman Jeff Petry, a healthy scratch on Thursday for the first time in several years, had a rough return on Saturday. He banged his head off the glass after being sandwiched by a pair of Flames in the second period and did not return.

“That didn’t look good and I’m not expecting it to be great news,” said head coach Dallas Eakins.

ROBERT.TYCHKOWSKI@Sunmedia.ca

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The Edmonton Oilers scored their only goal of the game with 10 seconds in regulation time courtesy of Taylor Hall but Jrir Hudler gave the Calgary Flames three minutes into overtime for the Battle of Alberta win

Check back shortly for post-game quotes

Three Stars

1. Reto Berra, Flames

Came within 10.1 of his first career shutout.

2. Lee Stempniak, Flames

Scored the opening goal of the game.

3. Jiri Hudler, Flames

Scored the overtime winner.

Game Grades

Offence D

Defence B

Goaltending B

Power play D

Penalty kill A

Toughness D

Effort D

Why Oilers loss

There was not sense of urgency in the contest. They gave up an early goal and waited for someone to make something happen, and no one did.

Play of the game

The Oilers lose a battle along the boards in their own zone. The puck goes down the ice where Matt Stajan out-muscles Andrew Ference and tips the puck to Lee Stempniak, who wires a shot over the shoulder of Devan Dubnyk.

Hit of the game

Sven Baertschi and Blair Jones both lineup Jeff Petry along the boards. Petry takes the hit and slams his head into the glass. He was forced to leave the game and did not return.